Critical minerals pipeline thin, greenfield exploration budgets flat

Pressure on mines to operate in a lower-margin environment remains, with industry conditions suggesting the likelihood of further consolidation among mining majors.

While the need for generative exploration is acknowledged as being essential, value over volume is the mantra.

Where money is available, gold and silver feature first and second on the list.

Even though new discovery is mission-critical, inorganic growth remains the focus, at a time when supply chain reorganisation is accompanying political competition between major powers.

These are among the many  points highlighted by Seequent Segment director mining Dr Janina Elliott in an article to Mining Weekly on three mining industry trends that need watching.

While the world is set on the path to electrification and digital transformation, market behaviour does not yet indicate the onset of a new super cycle focused on energy transition.

Mining being treated as a strategic priority for autonomy, fast-tracking policy shifts, incentives, and public-private partnerships is creating opportunity.

To satisfy stakeholders, diversified mining companies are needing fiscal and operational optimisation with a focus on existing sites against the background of investors wanting clear returns.

For the foreseeable future, the current holding patterns on global investment shaped by geopolitics are likely to remain in 2026 and despite a hesitantly positive outlook, global activity does not yet bear the semblance of a super cycle.

Mining needs to embrace modern technology with a greater sense of urgency and needed when choosing technology are agility and openness. Agility refers to flexible workflows and pointed out is that a modern drilling campaign takes advantage of a digital supply chain from sensor enabled rigs, to automated core sheds, to digitally connected laboratories that create geological insight while the drills are turning.  Where openness matters is with cloud-based ecosystems that enable data to flow freely across multi-disciplinary streams.

Upskilling is now unequivocably critical within an environment where technology aids a modern geoscientist in the innovation of more efficient workflows. Success in 2026 will depend on disciplined growth, responsible innovation, and a renewed focus on people and sustainability, Elliott outlines in the article to Mining Weekly.